Biryani, Neychoru top Eid-ul-Fitr menu

KOCHI: Ending the month-long fasting, Muslims celebrated Eid-ul-Fitr with religious fervour in the city on Wednesday.It was a normal menu for former Ranji Trophy player Feroze Rashid on the Ramzan day, with minimum delicacies for the special occasion.Mutton biryani and chicken fry were the main dishes for the special event and a dessert of ice cream.“Making too many food items does not make sense as there is only a limited number of people to relish them,” Feroze said.The breakfast was also light with no special items. Rice, curry and gruel was part of the breakfast.But Naushad, an ex-football player had an elaborate menu for a sumptuous lunch. The day began with a light breakfast of ‘appam’ and ‘kadala’ curry.The lunch was heavy with mutton biryani, beef roast and chicken dish, Naushad’s wife Shabeena Naushad, said.“There are a large number of guests and hence the list of menu is obviously long. The menu is same during all Ramzan days,” she said.Sunil Jaleel, a cop with the Kerala Police said he and his family had ‘neychoru’ for the day. The side dish was chicken and beef. Sunil had typical Malabar ‘pathiri’ and non-vegetarian delicacies for breakfast.For Salim of West Kochi the day began on a bright note with breakfast after the prayers. He said that occasion was a time for relatives to gather after a long gap. Chicken biryani, chicken fry and ‘faluda’ topped the menu. “It was easy to make the delicacies as many kins joined together for the occasion. There is no scope for leftovers,” he said.The menu for dinner is ‘neychoru’ and mutton curry. He said that the ‘sakkathu’ ceremony was conducted with all enthusiasm. According to B A Muhammad Najeeb, secretary, Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaath, the deprived were given money or essential articles to prepare food. Most of the hotels and roadside food joints in the city witnessed a rush on the festival day.